Duane King Post-Doctoral hero

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Duane H. King Postdoctoral Fellowship

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University of Tulsa/Helmerich Center for American Research

The University of Tulsa’s Helmerich Center for American Research at Gilcrease Museum seeks applications for its sixth annual Duane H. King Postdoctoral Fellow. The Research Center houses the Gilcrease Library and Archive containing more than 100,000 rare books, manuscripts, maps, photographs, and unpublished works. The collection dates back to the time of Columbus and details the Spanish arrival in the Americas, the New England colonies, the founding of democracy in the United States, and Anglo-Indian contact and conflict in the American West. The center also holds a large Native American collection of manuscripts, photographs, maps, and rare books. Materials housed at the University of Tulsa’s McFarlin Library Special Collections on the TU campus complement many of the center’s strengths, but offers unique research opportunities in English and American literature. The McFarlin Library Special Collections holds one of the five largest collections in the world on the celebrated Irish writer James Joyce and the life archive of Nobel Laureate Sir V.S. Naipaul. Other significant collections include a wide variety of British, Irish, and American modernist literature, a large and varied collection of materials on World War I, Native American history and culture, and Tulsa race relations. 

While the Helmerich Center welcomes interdisciplinary applications from scholars with focus on any aspect of the Americas, we especially encourage applications from candidates who wish to conduct research in such thematic areas as: Maps/Mapmaking in the Americas, Native American history, Afro-Indigenous histories and the Freedmen of the Five Tribes in Indian Territory, New Spain and the Mexican Inquisition (16th-19th centuries), the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, American literature and rare books, and Charles Marion Russell’s life and work. 

Position Summary: 

The Duane H. King Postdoctoral fellow will teach an undergraduate course in the fall semester, one course in the spring semester, present research at one works-in-progress seminar, run a one-day workshop for local teachers, conduct research in the Gilcrease Museum library and archive at the Helmerich Center for American Research (HCAR) and McFarlin Library Special Collections (if applicable), and participate in the intellectual community of the university. Ph.D. is required at the time of appointment. The position commences on August 5, 2024. The salary is $40,000 plus benefits.  

Characteristic Duties: 

  • Conduct research in the Center’s library and archive, as well as McFarlin Library’s Special Collections when applicable. 
  • Teach one course in the fall semester and one in the spring in the fellow’s academic field/department. 
  • Present research at one Works-in-Progress Seminar at HCAR during the academic year and attend all other scheduled seminars. 
  • Occasionally give talks on campus related to fellow’s area of research specialty. 
  • In collaboration with the Associate Director, TU faculty, and Gilcrease Museum staff, design and execute a public program or K-12 teacher workshop related to one’s area of research interest. 
  • Support the ongoing work of the museum and HCAR with interpretive planning, collections development, occasional writing on museum collections, presentations, and other projects as assigned. 
  • Participate in the intellectual community of the university. 

Required Qualifications 

Knowledge/Skill/Ability 

  • Excellent project management skills 
  • Outstanding interpersonal and collaborative skills 
  • Exemplary research skills and experience 
  • Proficient with Microsoft Excel and familiar with Access, Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook 
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills, ability to communicate effectively with diverse stakeholders 

Equivalent Education/Experience 

  • PhD in a humanities, social science, or other field related to the Gilcrease Museum collections 
  • Must have 1-3 years of experience teaching undergraduates at a college or university 

Special Job Dimensions 

  • Work on the evenings or weekends may be required for special events 
  • Occasional travel to represent HCAR, Gilcrease Museum, and TU at academic and professional conferences may be assigned 

To apply, these materials are required: 

  • Required Letter of Application 
  • Curriculum Vitae 
  • Two letters of recommendation 

Application Link: https://universitytulsa.peopleadmin.com/postings/7211

Deadline: March 31, 2024
Submit questions to: alex-patterson@utulsa.edu

Application Information:

The University of Tulsa seeks to recruit and retain talented students, faculty, and staff from diverse backgrounds. The University of Tulsa is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and encourages qualified candidates across all group demographics to apply. The University does not discriminate on the basis of personal status or group characteristics including, but not limited to race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, age, sex, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, ancestry, or marital status. 

Our Postdoctoral Fellows:

2023-2024
Benjamin Pokross, Ph.D., Yale University

2022-2023
Autumn Brown, Ph.D., Oklahoma State University
Current Affiliation: Assistant Professor, Oklahoma Oral History Research Program, Oklahoma State University
Meet Dr. Brown:  Inaugural Eddie Faye Gales Lecture & Second Annual Eddie Faye Gates Lecture

2021-2022
Mark Boxell, Ph.D., University of Oklahoma
Current Affiliation: Assistant Professor of History, University of Nebraska
Meet Dr. Boxell: Race, Land, and the Business of Oil in Indian Territory

2020-2021
Jenny M. Forsythe, Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles
Current Affiliation: Assistant Professor of English, Western Washington University
Meet Dr. Forsythe: Gilcrease Inside Out: Helmerich Center for American Research

2019-2020
Travis Jeffres, Ph.D., Rutgers University
Current Affiliation: Architectural Historian, Horrocks Engineers, Inc.
Meet Dr. Jeffres: Exploration and Education: Inaugural Duane H. King Postdoctoral Fellow